Journey's End
by Lizzybeth93
Summary: 'You've pulled him out of the darkness Teresa, and that was never part of my plan.'Red John issues Lisbon with an ultimatum. She has 7 days before he's going to kill her.
1. Prologue

**Title:** Journey's End  
**Author:** Lizzybeth93  
**Rating:** T  
**Characters:** Lisbon mainly, with quite a bit of Jane and some team.  
**Summary:** Red John sends Lisbon an ultimatum. It's basically about how she copes with it.  
**Total Word Count:** 11,000 words approx.  
**Beta:** Hardly Loquacious  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own it.  
**A/N:** Written for the Jello Forever Big bang 2010.

Huge thanks to Andree for being an amazing beta, I don't think I could have pulled this off without your input. Also, special thanks must go to Tracie for being the best cheerleader ever. The Wicked related video's you sent me always cheered me up when I was feeling down about the writing, likewise I don't think I'd have got this done without your help. Thanks is also due to my artists who are both awesome.

- 9.30pm -

The floor of the CBI HQ that housed the serious crimes unit was practically silent. Most sensible people had left for the night either having already finished their paperwork ( like Cho and Van Pelt) or given it up as tedious and decided that it could be completed in the morning ( like Rigsby.)

There was however one glowing light on this floor, coming, as usual, from the office of Teresa Lisbon. There anyone who looks will find her buried in paperwork that she is diligently filling in. You must not think that I am insinuating that Lisbon has procrastinated and now has to stay late because she didn't bother to fill in her paperwork during the day like her Junior Agents. Teresa Lisbon is the best the CBI has to offer; she's beautiful, smart and can definitely catch a murderer. That's why she's in charge of my case. She's not good enough to catch me of course, but no Agent is.

No, Agent Lisbon has to stay late because she has twice as much paperwork to fill in as said Junior Agents. The cause of these obscene amounts of paperwork can be found dozing on the couch situated in her office.

Well, I say dozing; he isn't really asleep. He's pretending to sleep so that Lisbon doesn't feel intruded upon. And also it means that she doesn't notice when he's observing her.

Why, you might ask does Lisbon allow herself to be so close to a man who causes her nothing but trouble, the man they call Patrick Jane? The answer is simple: she loves him.

You also might ask how I came to know this. Again that's another simple answer I watch and observe, not that they know it of course. Well, I'm guessing they have their suspicions but none of them really know for sure. Not even the man who is supposed to see everything.

Interestingly, there is something else I've observed that no-one else has. Jane, no matter how much he tries to hide it, loves her too.

This could bring up a few problems, one being that as she is blinded by love Teresa Lisbon is becoming distracted from my case. I don't want her to put Jane in the way of her career. I am after all, a career making case. Not that she'll ever get to find out. Patrick Jane is also becoming distracted; it disappoints me as I do so like to see the desolation in his eyes when he reads my case files late at night. He hasn't done that in a while. No he prefers to spend his time with _her_, sitting in her office and making her smile. She's getting in the way of all my plans.

And this is the real problem: Lisbon is making Jane happy. He was supposed to stay in a state of pure misery, completely consumed by guilt and self-loathing. And Lisbon is making keeping him that way very difficult.

But no matter, this situation shan't last for long. I will not allow Patrick Jane to make her fall in love with him, it is simply not done. They won't be able to get distracted when their next Red John case involves them both so closely.


	2. Chapter 1

Lisbon threw her jacket down on the arm of the sofa and kicked off her shoes. She didn't really care where they landed; all she wanted to do was sit and relax in front of the TV.

It had been yet another long day at the office, during which they had finally closed the Dalton case. Not without Jane pulling one of his usual stunts to catch the suspect of course. This particular stunt had involved arresting the victim's father for murder, so that the real killer (the valet) would try and escape. What the valet didn't know was that Rigsby and Cho were waiting nearby to apprehend him.

For Lisbon, the results of this stunt included a pile of paperwork as high as Everest for her to fill in, a law suit filed by the Dalton family against the CBI and a very angry Hightower. As a result Lisbon had spent the rest of the day scaling the paperwork mountain. In contrast, Jane had spent the rest of his day lying on her sofa, trying to get her forgiveness by bringing her closed-case doughnuts.

In the end she just gave in to his constant barrage of apologies and joined him on her sofa. There they spent two hours discussing everything from past cases to books they'd read recently. She knew she should have made him suffer a little longer, but for her trying to resist Jane, for very long, especially when he was actively trying to get back in her good graces, was as difficult as trying to give up coffee.

Now she was getting ready to curl up on her sofa at home when something on her coffee table caught her eye.

An envelope.

A white envelope with _Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon _scrawled across the front in blood red ink.

She picked it up immediately. The sight of it filled her with apprehension and fear over what she would find inside. Her quaking fingers fumbled as she tore out a piece of white paper covered with several lines of neat, blood red handwriting.

_Dear Agent Lisbon,_

_ You shouldn't cross me. I would have thought that your lover would have taught you that. You've pulled him out of the darkness Teresa, and that was never part of my plan. Now I'm afraid that I will have to put a stop to your interference, so in 7 days time I'm going to come and visit you. I'm very much looking forward to it as I have longed to meet you for so very long. And I know you will enjoy finally meeting me._

_7 days Teresa._

Lisbon didn't need to see the smiley face signature to know who it was from.

Red John.

Suddenly her legs felt like they could no longer support her weight and buckled beneath her; she collapsed onto the couch. She re-read the letter over and over again, trying to take in its contents, trying to find some loophole, some way out of this. By the 5th read through her hands were shaking so much she found she couldn't even make out the words.

Lisbon took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, as a lone tear snaked its way down her cheek.

She wasn't going to cry. Crying would be weak and what good would it do her? She'd learned a long time ago that crying didn't solve anything, in fact in made everything worse. She needed to keep a clear head as her mind processed what she'd just read. She was going to die in seven days time. Red John was going to kill her.

No one could stop it happening. She'd been working the Red John case for 5 years now and he'd never made a mistake, never gone back on his threats. Why would this time be any different?

She would try to stop it. Of course she would. She wasn't about to just roll over and let Red John kill her. But she knew that no matter what kind of a fight she put up, no matter how strong her protection was Red John was going to get past it. He'd done it several times before. He'd even done it to CBI Agents. The serial killer had proven very effectively that no one was safe.

Surprisingly, she wasn't scared or worried about her own life, she had come to terms with her own mortality when Bosco had died, Lisbon had also realised that at some point Red John would come after her. Now that he'd taken that step, she was prepared to face him.

She knew why he had. She didn't even pretend not to understand who Red John was talking about when he referred to her 'lover.'

Jane.

Because she'd realised a while ago that she was falling for her consultant. And maybe she'd started to notice that sometimes, when they were alone, his smile would actually reach his eyes. He wasn't the same man she'd met for the first time 5 years ago. The man she now knew to be Patrick Jane had learnt to care, at least a little. Learnt that maybe there was more to life than his quest for revenge. And maybe some of that was down to her.

She'd never given up on him, not once, and she never would. Even on his darkest days, the days when the only thing in his eyes was desolation and sadness. She'd never given up on 'fixing him.'

It was ingrained in her, that need to fix people. She'd tried to fix her father, to pretend that he didn't have a problem, tried to make him better. But it turned out he was unfixable. That one failure was what had made her want to be a cop. She wanted to be a cop so that sometimes she could make people better.

And now that was going to cost her her life.

She wasn't sorry. She didn't wish that she'd given up on Jane and left him to slowly go insane. She was glad she'd started to fix him, even if it meant her dying. If Red John could see a change then she knew she'd succeeded.

And therein lay the problem.

If Red John murdered her, Jane would break all over again, and this time maybe irrevocably. He would drive himself mad with guilt. As soon as he saw the letter he'd blame himself. And that was exactly what Red John wanted.

So maybe Jane didn't have to find out about the letter. She wasn't going to tell him. She could just allow him to be happy for 7 days more, god knows he needed it. He'd be devastated enough if Red John killed her. The last thing he needed to read was a letter taunting him as well.

But how could she stop him from finding out about the warning?

Okay, so she'd planned to take some sort of protection, but maybe if she went straight to Hightower and asked that only her team be used to protect her Jane might not get suspicious. Yes, it was a long shot but she had to try, not just for Jane but for herself. She couldn't bear to spend her last days watching him destroy himself. Not to mention she didn't want to be scrutinized for her last week. She supposed it was a little selfish of her, but she didn't want to remember him as a guilt ridden wreck thanks to her

And yes knowing that she lied to him would hurt him eventually but still…

The more she thought about it the worse it sounded. But she also knew that she wasn't going to tell him.


	3. Chapter 2

**Thanks to: Tromana, Aurora Stormwind, Jisbon4ever, 24mentalistlover, klcarr892, The Agent of Chaos, Kuhlama and country2776 for the reviews.**

**Well here's chapter 2, enjoy!**

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Lisbon rolled over and slammed her hand down on her alarm clock. She was already awake and didn't need reminding that life was quickly passing by. Now she had to get up and go to work as normal.

Normal.

Life would never be normal again. She scoffed at herself for thinking getting to work on time as usual was the important thing in her life now. Her life was no longer in her own hands. And, as far as she could see, it looked like there was no way out, no avoiding her murder in week's time. Lisbon had cheated death before but another escape didn't seem all that lucky. Not with Red John involved. She consoled herself with the thought that since she knew she was dying at least she could do things, say things to people. She had time to put her affairs in order, to say goodbye. It was similar to the position Jane had put her in a year ago when he tricked her into thinking that she'd been infected with a killer virus. Only, this time it wasn't a hoax.

Lisbon crawled out of bed and began searching through her wardrobe. Before long she'd found her usual pair of black pants and chose a green shirt to go with them. She smiled a little remembering the last time she wore that shirt, Jane said that it complimented her eyes.

Small things like that were what she was going to miss most. She was going to miss the way Cho smiled when he thought no one was looking, the way Rigsby was like a human vacuum always eating and the way Van Pelt was always trying to impress the rest of the team (though she did that a long time ago).

But most of all she was going to miss Patrick Jane.

Deftly Lisbon swept her hair back and secured it in a bun at the back of her head, as she looked in the mirror she saw the dark circles that had formed underneath her eyes. Quickly she reached for her cover-up and began applying it. It wouldn't do to look exhausted. Jane would be sure to notice, and she didn't need him asking questions today.

When she'd completed her make-up and brushed her teeth she headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the bottom of her stairs, the letter caught her eye. It was still sitting on the coffee table where she'd left it, taunting her. Skipping breakfast she grabbed her keys, gun, badge and blazer and headed out for work. Still trying to pretend that everything was exactly as it should be.

It helped that when she arrived at CBI HQ everything was perfectly normal. She knew that no one knew about the letter she had received so she didn't have to deal with people panicking or worrying, but she felt incredibly lonely knowing that everyone else in the building was having a perfectly normal day. Still, to keep up the charade, Lisbon plastered on a fake smile and said a cheery 'Good morning!' to the security guard as he checked her in.

When she got to the bullpen she saw that the team didn't have a new case waiting. When she asked Cho he told her that as far as he knew the team hadn't received any phone calls all morning. Lisbon, unusually, was a little relieved by the prospect of a light day. Normally, she'd be pissed that they didn't have a case as it would mean a day doing paperwork alone in her office, but today the prospect of being alone and unobserved seemed positively blissful. Sure, she wouldn't have the distraction working a case would provide, but at least she wouldn't have to tirelessly keep up a façade and act like nothing was wrong.

She might actually be able to get through the day this way.

Then she remembered Patrick Jane. He was, _of course,_ going to poke his handsome blond head around her office door at regular intervals to annoy her, make her laugh and generally distract her. She was pretty sure that none of his usual crap would have the desired effect today thanks to the letter sitting in her apartment. That would just mean that he might try harder. He might take up residence on her couch; if he did he'd be bound to discover that something was wrong.

Which meant that today was going to be tough after all.

Lisbon headed straight for the kitchen to get a coffee.

"Morning boss." Van Pelt greeted with a smile as she passed Lisbon, her arms laden with paperwork.

"Morning Van Pelt." She replied with the happiest smile she could muster.

But apparently her attempt wasn't good enough "Are you ok boss?" the younger Agent asked.

'I'm fine.' Lisbon replied and without further ado she carried on towards the kitchen.

Grabbing her usual cup of coffee she headed back into her office forced herself to start one of the piles of paperwork on her desk. Lisbon _had_ planned on going straight to Hightower's office first thing and telling her about the letter but as skimmed her paperwork while drinking that first cup of coffee she realised what would happen if she did that. Telling Hightower had seemed like a good idea when she was still in shock and trying to come to terms with what was happening, but now that she'd recovered and was thinking rationally it didn't seem so good.

Hightower would very probably force her to take special protection and go straight into a safe house. Which means Jane would notice something was going on. If Hightower didn't just call him into her office immediately and tell him right then and there. After all, he was her golden boy. And the Red John case was _his_

Lisbon sank her head into her hands, sighing loudly. Maybe she should just keep the letter to herself, maybe it was for the best… What did it matter what she did. She was probably going to die anyway.

But since she'd gotten over her original panic she'd realized something else as well. She didn't want to die. Not telling Hightower was one thing, but if she didn't tell anyone at all then she'd just be making herself more vulnerable.

She drained the last of her coffee and made a start on the paperwork. Well, she tried to make a start, but after two minutes she found herself distracted by the goings on in the bullpen. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening but she found herself distracted by it anyway. Often on 'paperwork' days she liked to observe the interactions of her team and anyone else in the bullpen.

She smiled as she watched Van Pelt tapping away on her keyboard, ever the hard worker. She turned her attention to Rigsby and Cho at their desks; clearly they were having a debate about something because Rigsby was gesturing rather wildly (and entertainingly). With something that crazy-looking to distract her it should have been strange that the man Lisbon found her eyes drawn to the most wasn't doing anything particularly interesting at all. He was simply lying on a brown leather couch, apparently sleeping. Of course she knew he wasn't really sleeping; he was thinking, no doubt coming up with a new method of annoying her.

Then Lisbon noticed Cho approaching her door, breaking her reverie. He knocked once before entering as she called him in.

"The paperwork from the Dalton case." he said placing it on her desk.

"Thanks." She replied softly, before once again getting lost in her thoughts.

Cho was a little surprised by her obvious distraction. "Am I up in court for this case?" he asked.

"Huh?" Lisbon asked blankly. She hadn't realised that Cho was still in the room. She shook herself and gave him her full attention.

"I said am I up in court for this case?" he repeated.

'Oh yeah,' she said a bit distantly 'The assistant DA wants you and Rigsby to testify.' She dropped her head back to the paperwork on her desk.

After, a few seconds she realised Cho wasn't leaving. Clearly, he'd sensed that something was wrong. Maybe…

'Cho can you close the door and sit down for a moment?' she asked.

Lisbon didn't know why she hadn't considered this option before. She'd know Cho for 6 years and in that time they'd developed a good relationship. She trusted him more than anyone else she knew, and telling him felt like the right thing to do. After all Cho was a great agent in his own right. Lisbon knew he'd been approached several times to lead his own unit, but had turned them down because he wanted to stay with her team. Yes, Cho was most defiantly the right person to confide in. He might even be able to suggest something to help with the situation.

"Boss, is there something wrong?" he asked, with evident concern.

"Yes." She admitted. "Cho, I trust you, which is why I'm telling you this. You're the first person I've told. " She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Last night, I got a letter…from Red John."

"Boss, I…" he interrupted, but she continued.

"In it he asserts that in seven days time he's going to murder me." A look of shock appeared fleetingly on Cho's face, but it disappeared in a moment. Lisbon knew, in his own way, he was trying to comfort her. "I…I don't know what to do Cho and I need your help."

Tears almost overcame her but she managed to keep it together. Telling someone made it seem more real somehow. Like now she could no longer try and deny that this was happening.

"Boss, let me tell the rest of the team, we need to sort out some protection for you," Cho insisted.

"You can tell Van Pelt and Rigsby, but no one else. Especially not Jane. The only protection I want is from my team," Lisbon replied putting on a brave face.

"But Lisbon, don't you think Jane would want to know? He really cares about you." Cho's reminded her, sounding uncertain.

"No." Lisbon said hotly before sighing and sinking into her chair "I'm asking you as a friend Cho, please." She hated the pleading note in her voice. "Besides, you usually have no problem not following proper protocol."

"Fine, I won't tell him. The rest of the team and I will escort you to and from work, and we'll take it in turns to watch your house through the night." He promised, sounding businesslike again.

"Thank you." She said managing a small smile.

Cho immediately left her office to tell Van Pelt and Rigsby.

5 minutes later Van Pelt burst into her office looking upset, Rigsby wasn't far behind although he hesitated a little before stepping over the threshold and letting the door shut behind him. Lisbon knew what was coming.

"Boss, how can you not want to tell Hightower? I mean, surely you need the best protection you can get. This is Red John we're talking about!" Van Pelt asked, indignantly.

"Grace," Lisbon said calmly, "You are all the protection I need and want. If you can't stop Red John, then I'm sure no-one else can."

"But…" Van Pelt began, but Lisbon cut her off.

"And I don't want Jane to find out and I trust you guys more than Hightower not to tell him."

"Why don't you want him to know? I'm sure he'd be distraught if anything happened to you." Van Pelt shot back.

"Exactly, I don't want to go upsetting him, you know what he's like with Red John. I'm trusting you Grace, as a friend. Please don't say anything to anyone. If you don't want to be part of my protection then fine you don't have to but you can't tell Jane. That goes for you too Rigsby." She explained calmly, addressing Rigsby for the first time since he had entered her office.

"Boss, if this is what you want then I'll do it, no questions asked." Rigsby replied.

"Thank you." Lisbon said with a small smile as he returned to the bullpen. She then turned her attention to Van Pelt.

"Of course I'm going to protect you. I just wanted to make sure you were sure about all of this," Van Pelt answered quickly.

"Thank you for your concern Van Pelt, but I am most defiantly sure about what I'm doing," Lisbon responded.

Van Pelt nodded her head slightly and followed Rigsby out into the bullpen

That night Rigsby escorted her home and stayed on the sofa in her apartment, he then escorted her into work the next day.

Jane didn't notice a thing. Well, if he did he didn't show it. Besides, there was nothing for him to notice, only Lisbon and Rigsby leaving at the same time which wasn't unheard of. The team had already agreed that they would take it in turns escorting their boss home. That way it wouldn't look too suspicious. And maybe team had acted slightly protective of her all day, but once she'd given them a whispered telling off they returned almost to normal. Well, close enough. Lisbon still caught them glancing worriedly at her office from time to time.


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the mistake guys! This is Chapter 3, enjoy!**

The next day was a long one. It was already dark and out of the bullpen window Lisbon could see the lights of the city glittering like stars. She loved the city at night; it always looked so beautiful and full of energy. When she'd first moved to Sacramento she would sometimes just sit and stare at it. It was yet another thing she had to add to her 'what I'm going to miss' list. It was Cho's turn to stay at her apartment tonight and he was waiting downstairs for her.

She sighed as she closed the blinds of her office, preparing to go home and lie awake thinking.

Then suddenly, the door to her office was flung open and in walked Patrick Jane. Lisbon hadn't realised he was still at work.

"Evening!" he said brightly.

"What to you want?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I haven't disturbed you today because I noticed there was something wrong. I thought you might feel better by the end of the day, but that obviously didn't happen. So I thought you should talk about it." He said matter-of-factly.

"Go away Jane." She answered tersely.

"No I won't," he replied taking a seat on the chair opposite her. "I won't go away until you tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong, so go away," she lied.

"I'm insulted that you think I would be fooled by a lie as bad as that," he said, exasperation creeping into his voice.

Lisbon raised her head to shoot him a glare but as she did so Jane's eyes met hers. He reached across the desk and squeezed her hand gently, she knew she should pull it away, break the eye contact, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Again she realised Red John was right. Jane cared about her and she cared about him: she loved him. It took facing death to make her see it. She was in love with Patrick Jane.

"Whatever it is Lisbon you can tell me, I'm here for you."

Jane's words sent her hurtling back to reality and she swiftly averted her gaze and pulled her hand from beneath his. She felt the cool air around it acutely after the contrast of his skin's warmth. The cold sensation only served to remind her that soon her hands would be permanently cold.

"No I can't Jane, now please just leave me alone." She told him coldly. She really wanted him to leave. Lisbon could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she knew that if he didn't leave soon her barriers would break and words would spill from her mouth. Words that she didn't want to say.

"Lisbon, look at me." He sounded so concerned that the tone of his voice made her resolve break even more. Not just because she wasn't going to tell him what was going on but because of the hurt it would cause him if (when?) her body was found afterwards.

So she simply shook her head in refusal, not trusting her voice to not betray her feelings. Jane stood up and walked around the desk towards her. He brought his hand to cup her cheek and tried to turn her head towards him. Lisbon tried to resist his attempts, but found she didn't have the strength or will.

Once again their eyes locked and Lisbon could see a look of hurt and concern lurking in his stare. Tears once again threatened to overcome her as she imagined his pain when he found out. Not that she'd be there to see it of course.

"Teresa, please, just tell me what's wrong, I want to help." Jane was almost begging now, and her heart ached to tell him. She stood up, pulling his face from her hands. Then, turning her back to him, she strode to the other side of the room.

"Jane, please…" Lisbon stuttered "I can't…I just…I'm sorry." She was apologising for everything that already had and was going to happen.

He strode over to where she was standing and put his hands on her hips, turning her to face him. There faces were inches apart and the look in Jane's eyes was so sincere that Lisbon lost all sense of reality.

"Yes you can." She felt his words more than she heard them. And then she did the only thing she'd really wanted to do since he walked in the room. Since longer than that actually.

She captured his lips with her own. They shared a soft gentle kiss. Lisbon knew that she'd feel guilty later but right now all she wanted was to feel Jane's lips on hers.

After a few moments Jane pulled away, confusion obvious all over his face.

"Please Jane." Was her only reply before she kissed him once more. Jane returned the kiss with passionate fervour and before Lisbon knew what was happening she'd been pushed up against the wall. Their kiss was broken only when her fingers started toying with the buttons on his vest that the kiss was broken.

"Here Lisbon, really?" Jane asked, almost playfully, his breathing laboured from the passion of the kiss. His tone may have been light but Lisbon knew that it was an act and that he hadn't forgotten that there was something wrong. She pretended not to know. She'd deal with that later.

Instead, she immediately tried to kiss him again. But he pulled away.

"Hightower's still here, do you really want to her to walk in on you having sex with your consultant?" Jane asked. Once again his tone was teasing.

Lisbon leaned closer to him, close enough that he could feel her breath as she whispered in his ear.

"No I don't, which is why we're going back to my place." She grabbed his hand and led him out of her office and to the elevator, throwing seductive looks back at him every so often.

Waiting for the elevator was agonising, he stood as close to her as possible without touching her and she could feel his warm breath tickling her neck. The wait was enough time for conscious thought to return at least a little. What was she doing? She was determined for him not to find out about the letter and yet she was inviting him into her bedroom!

He brushed his hand against her hip and she realised that all she wanted to do was forget, about the letter, about Red John, about everything and just do something that she had wanted to do for a long time. Guilt could wait until the morning.

The ping of the elevator bell jolted them both from the agonizing wait. Quickly, the pair stepped into the elevator. The moment the doors closed Lisbon pulled her consultant into another passionate kiss.

She broke away when they reached the ground floor and thought she saw something flash fleetingly across Jane's expression. Concern, hurt, reluctance? Perhaps it was all of these things or perhaps none of them, but Lisbon knew that he knew there was something wrong and he was still determined to find out what. He was playing the long game.

Cho was stood by his car waiting for Lisbon. When he saw her walking out of he building hand in hand with Jane, Lisbon caught his eye and gave him a small nod that said 'Can you sleep in the car tonight?' Cho retuned her nod and got into his car to follow Lisbon and her unexpected passenger home.

Lisbon was a bit worried that Jane would notice that Cho was following them, but he was too caught up in her to notice anything going on outside of the car. When they pulled up outside her home he didn't look anywhere but at her.

As soon as Jane shut her front door, his lips were on hers. He kissed gently down her neck and over her collar bone. Lisbon felt goose bumps form on her pale skin in response. She threaded her fingers through his curls before pulling his head up to meet her eyes her expression almost adoring.

"This is where you say we shouldn't be doing this." Jane said with a seductive grin. Instead of following his suggestion, Lisbon silenced him by pulling him into another mind blowing kiss.

Nothing else mattered now but the soft caresses of lovers. Hands dancing across bodies, clothes falling to the floor, skin touching skin.

They didn't make it to her bed; they did make it to her sofa, their cries colouring the blank walls of the room with passion until they were both shaking with ardour.

Only then did they make it to her bed. There their naked limbs entwined again and their breathing slowed as they both feel into a deep, satisfied sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

Lisbon was the first of the pair to wake the following morning. Only half-awake, she felt the presence of a warm body next to her, arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled softly and snuggled into the embrace; breathing in his scent…Then guilt hit her with the force of a freight train.

How could she have been so stupid?

That was Jane lying next to her. _Patrick_ Jane. The man she was in love with. The man she had spent the last two days trying to avoid like the plague. The man she really didn't want to discover what she was hiding.

And she'd gone and slept with him. He was bound to find out now. If he didn't realise when Cho knocked on the door to escort her to work, then she was sure that something in her demeanour would give her away. The guilt of not telling Jane about the letter was hard enough to bear as it was. She wouldn't be able to keep up the charade after waking up in Jane's arms. He was already suspicious. And she knew that even though he'd given in to her the previous night, he knew that something was wrong with her and he wouldn't give up until he found out what it was.

Lisbon just laid there for a few moments, listening to his slow, heavy breathing. She had never seen him look so calm and peaceful before; it broke her heart. She imagined his face when (because she now knew it was inevitable) he found out about the threat from Red John. He could picture the look of hurt and betrayal in his eyes not only because he was upset about what Red John had said, but also because she'd kept it from him. Lisbon buried her head in her pillow to try and erase the image of his broken face but it just wouldn't disappear.

Carefully, so as not to wake him, she extracted herself from his arms and climbed out of bed, hoping that not feeling his body next to hers would help her forget. She took the robe that hung on the back of her bedroom door and wrapped it around her small frame before heading downstairs.

As Lisbon reached the bottom of the stairs it became apparent just how much she and Jane had wanted each other last night. Their clothes were spread randomly all over her sitting room. She almost smiled when she spotted one of Jane's socks half tucked underneath her curtain; how on earth it had managed to get there Lisbon had no idea. Still, given that it was Jane, it made a strange sort of sense

Lisbon stood at the foot of the stairs just surveying her sitting room. The sight of her and Jane's clothes scattered all over her floor was one that she had always wanted to see. But now that she had, Red John had to ruin everything, he always did.

It caught her eye again; the letter, no longer sitting on her coffee, but knocked surreptitiously underneath her couch so that Jane wouldn't notice it.

Like a sleepwalker, Lisbon walked towards it and picked it up, tracing the words with her fingers. She what had to be done if she really didn't want Jane to discover its contents: she had to hurt him. She had to hurt him to save him, which meant that she had to cause him so much pain that he wouldn't want to talk to her for the remainder of the seven days. Lisbon supposed that she had known what had to be done from the moment she woke up next to Jane, but, like so many other things, she'd pushed it to the back of her mind.

Without thinking, she walked steadily into her kitchen and put the kettle on. She'd wait for Jane to wake up on his before telling him. That way Lisbon could get her head together and work out what she was going to tell him. She brewed herself a cup of coffee, took a seat on her couch and waited staring into the depths of her mug…

His gentle footsteps on the stairs announced his presence to her before he spoke. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there but she knew this was it now or never…

"Morning!" he announced brightly. Lisbon didn't answer, she just took a deep drink from her coffee and stared straight ahead.

"Don't worry Lisbon, I'm not naked. I found a man's robe lurking in the back of your wardrobe. Though I don't really see why you'd be so bothered about seeing me wearing very little after last night," his tone was light and suggestive but Lisbon interrupted him before he could continue in that vein.

"Jane, we need to talk…about last night,"

"Ah," he said sitting down in an armchair opposite Lisbon. "I thought you were going to say that, and I know what you're going to say next: this was a mistake, it shouldn't have happened blah, blah, blah."

"That's because it was," she answered quickly.

"I don't think so Teresa. You mean a lot to me and last night…you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Jane was going to break her heart if he carried on like he was. So Lisbon tried to take some of the gravity out of what he'd just said.

"So you've fantasized about having sex with me?" Lisbon quipped trying to sound harsh.

"No," Jane corrected quickly. "I mean…not the sex part (which by the way was amazing) I meant kissing you, being close to you. You are so important to me Teresa and I want you to know just how much. I think I lo-"

"No." She couldn't bear to hear him say it; if she did she was sure she'd never be able to push him away when all she wanted to do was hold him close.

"It's true Teresa I-"

"No. I don't feel that way about you Jane. I don't know what came over me last night. I'm the boss and you're he consultant and that's all you've ever been to me. I'm sorry if I led you on." Lisbon could feel her heart fracturing as she spoke. Jane looked like she'd just slapped him across the face. She looked away, trying to hide the tears that appeared in her eyes when she saw his expression.

"You're lying." Jane said his voice thick with emotion.

"No Jane, I'm not Lisbon kept her eyes focussed on her knees, she didn't need to look up to be able to tell how much she'd hurt him.

"Look at me." He demanded. Lisbon kept her eyes locked on her knees.

"Look at me." He repeated, a hint of anger appearing in his voice now. Lisbon did as he asked and immediately wished she hadn't, she hated herself for what she was doing to him. She felt sure that she'd never be able to get the image of Jane's broken, hurt face out of her head.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me."

"Jane you're only making things worse…" she spluttered.

"Do it!" he shouted. Lisbon had never heard Jane sound so angry. "Tell me that you don't love me."

Lisbon's green eyes met Jane's blue and she saw them flash with fury. After a few moments she dropped her gaze. She'd found herself incapable of uttering those words.

"You can't say it can you?" he asked fiercely.

Lisbon shook her head and finally, after days of trying to escape, tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"Why Teresa? Please just tell me why?" his tone had softened but he still sounded hurt.

"Jane, please…" Lisbon hated how fragile she sounded; she had never broken down like this. Ever. And yet somehow Jane had found the key to unlocking her defences.

"Just tell me why," he repeated insistently. "I know there's something wrong with you I just want to help you please." He sounded so concerned that she finally realised that she couldn't break his heart without breaking her own.

"Patrick, you have to promise me something." She hoped that using his given name would help soothe the situation.

"Anything."

"You have to promise me that when I tell you, you'll still love me." She said.

"I promise Teresa, what on earth..." he stopped mid-sentence as she produced the letter and handed it to him.

Lisbon watched as he read it his eye growing wider with every word. She waited with bated breath for the explosion that she was sure was on its way.

Jane finally looked up from the letter.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this," he wasn't shouting, his voice was quiet, calm. But that was somehow worse. Lisbon could tell that he was seething. It reminded her of getting told off by her mother as child and not for a small offence, like teasing one of her brothers, but more for something that required the use of her full name she'd have been less apprehensive if Jane had just screamed at her.

"Patrick, I really am sorry, I just..." her sentence tailed off, she knew the reasons she'd used to justify it to herself probably wouldn't cut it with Jane.

"You just what?" he asked coldly. "Thought I wouldn't be interested in a letter from Red John. He's mine Teresa."

"That's why I didn't tell you. I was scared! I know how you get around Red John cases, I couldn't handle seeing you like that and knowing it was my fault," Lisbon's voice broke a little more with every word.

Jane laughed, but it wasn't his usual jolly laugh, instead it sounded cold and hollow. "Your fault? You think he's doing this to punish you? He's doing it to punish me. I should never have let myself get so close to you!"

But now Lisbon was angry too. "Oh well I'm glad you feel that way. Everything's about you isn't it? Because I had _no_ idea I was putting myself in danger by getting close to you. And besides, I didn't hear you complaining about how close you'd gotten to me ten minutes ago when you denied that sleeping with me was a mistake. What was it you said, having sex with me was amazing? If all you care about is Red John then why are you here? Clearly he means more to you than I ever will." Sarcasm dripped off her every word, she knew he was hurting but she didn't care.

"Lisbon, how could you think that ?" Jane asked, sounding hurt again.

But Lisbon didn't care. "Oh well, let's see shall we?" she asked scathingly. "I show you a letter from Red John in which the psycho says he's going to kill me, and all you care about is the fact that it's from Red John." Lisbon stood up and stormed to the other side of her living room.

"I care about you Teresa. I told you I'm always going to save you, no matter what. And I put you in danger." Jane's voice actually cracked on the last word.

"Don't you dare!" Lisbon yelled, turning towards him "Don't you dare try and make me feel sorry for you! I fell in love with you, I didn't realise until recently but when I did I didn't try and prevent it. So don't you dare try and make out that you put me in danger, I put myself in danger and you know what? I don't regret it, not one bit."

"Why?" Jane asked heatedly "You should regret it. You deserve someone better, someone whole, someone who doesn't need fixing. Until Red John's out of the picture I can't be what you deserve." He turned away from her.

"Patrick..." Lisbon said softly, walking towards him "I want you."

She placed her hand gently on his cheek and turned his head towards her. Tears glistened on his cheeks and she slowly wiped them away with her thumb "I don't care how messed up you are. I don't want anyone else."

"But Red John..." Jane whispered.

"We'll get him Jane. By openly threatening me he's brought himself out into the open. I'll even go tell Hightower about it and she can assign..."

Jane cut her off, "Wait, you haven't told Hightower, have you got any protection?" Jane's question caught her off guard.

"Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt have been escorting me too and from work and staying on my couch at night." Lisbon answered tentatively.

"That's it?" Jane sounded positively scandalized.

"What?" Lisbon asked, obviously confused. "No, I didn't want you to find out, I didn't see the point."

"Didn't see the point? Your life is more important than anything, don't you know that? You have to tell Hightower," anger, once again, flooded his voice.

"Jane..."

"Promise me Lisbon. Promise me that as soon as we get into work this morning that we'll go and talk to Hightower." He leant forwards and took her hand in his, his eyes staring directly into hers.

"I promise," Lisbon agreed after a second "But only if you promise m,e that you won't try and kill Red John yourself. Leave him to the CBI. If he's arrested and charged he will get the death penalty."

"I can promise that I'll try but I don't know how I'll react when I see him. He killed my wife and daughter." He blinked and then looked away

"Shhh," Lisbon soothed, tenderly stroking his hair. "I know, all I ask is that you try."

After a moment Jane spoke again "So we'll go and see Hightower?"

"Tomorrow," she replied. And in answer to Jane's questioning look added "Tomorrow we'll go and see Hightower. Today, we're both going to call in sick and spend the day curled up on my sofa watching movies and telling each other all the meaningless things that no-one else knows about us. "

"While I'm impressed by your new carefree attitude to work," Jane told her, a hint of his old playfulness in his voice. "I really think that you need to tell Hightower about the letter. We need to get Red John"

Lisbon smiled at how their roles were reversed, just for one day at least. She kind of liked this responsible Jane. "Tomorrow," She repeated, he looked like he was about to protest so she quickly added "If Red John's to be believed then he's not going to come after me until Sunday, I'm sure that telling Hightower can wait one more day."

"Fine, but I'm not happy about this," Jane insisted. The smile on his face told her otherwise. She lent forwards and kissed him softly before getting up to find her phone to call work. And Cho.


	6. Chapter 5

The following morning**,** Lisbon awoke wrapped in the arms of Patrick Jane, with her head resting on his chest. She could tell by the gentle rise and fall that he, too, was awake.

"Morning beautiful," he greeted her brightly, kissing the top of her head. "Are you ready?"

Lisbon shook her head slowly, causing Jane to let out a small chuckle. "Of course you are. You're Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon;you're not afraid of anything."

"I don't know**,** Hightower's pretty scary," she replied.

"Hightower's the least of your problems." Jane said seriously.

Lisbon pulled the covers back and started to climb out of bed.

"Hey," Jane said, getting up from the bed and following her**. **"What's wrong?"

Lisbon turned to face him**. **"What if..." She didn't need to finish her sentence for Jane to understand what she was talking about. He pulled her into a comforting embrace, allowing her head to be buried in his t-shirt.

"Shhh..." he whispered soothingly**.**"Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

When he felt her body relax he pulled away. "Now why don't I get started on breakfast while you get ready for work?"

"Don't try and make anything too extravagant**.** Cho will be here in half an hour to escort us to work."

"Escort?" Jane asked**,**quirking an eyebrow.

"We're going to go in my car and he'll follow in his. It's just a precaution; I'm sure when I tell Hightower she's going to implement something much more formal," she answered with a slight smile.

Jane kissed her lips chastely before heading downstairs.

* * *

There were plenty of whispers when Patrick Jane, the consultant of the SCU and his boss**, **Agent Teresa Lisbon arrived at work in the same car. After all, it was rather suspicious that they'd both called in sick on the same day as well.

Normally, Lisbon would have hated to be the subject of office gossip**, **but today she was almost completely oblivious to it all. She had more important things to think about than how she appeared to her colleagues.

Lisbon and Jane headed straight through the bullpen and up the spiral staircase that led to the office of Madeleine Hightower. It was a walk they'd taken together many times**,** but this on this occasion it was different. This was probably the most scared Lisbon had ever been on a visit to Hightower. It was strange because this time**, **it wasn't as if she was in for a dressing down from her boss. Sure**,** Hightower would probably be angry that Lisbon didn't tell her sooner**,** but it wasn't as if it was a sacking offence. What concerned Lisbon was that by telling Hightower**,** this whole situation would seem so much more real. The threat to her life would feel a lot closer than before. Jane appeared surprisingly relaxed considering that this was about Red John.

When they reached the door of Hightower's office**,** Lisbon took a deep breath before looking up at Jane. Lisbon didn't know why**,** but when Jane gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand gently**,** some of her fear seemed to wash away. She tried to return Jane's smile but she didn't think she managed it with any conviction. Then**,** Lisbon raised her hand and knocked three times.

"Come in**,**" Hightower called from within.

Jane squeezed Lisbon's hand once more before letting go and pushing the door open for her. He followed her inside. Hightower was sat behind her desk, filling in some paperwork. They'd both been in the office so many times that they didn't need to wait for Hightower to ask them to take a seat**;** they sat down in the two chairs opposite Hightower that they'd occupied so many times before.

"Lisbon, Jane," Hightower greeted "I'm glad to see you're both feeling better. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Ordinarily, Lisbon would have blushed at Hightower's remark but now she felt as if all the blood had been drained from her body.

"Urmmm...We...I have something I need to tell you**,**" Lisbon began.

"If this is about your relationship with Jane," Hightower cut in**, **"I don't want to know. It doesn't violate CBI rules**, **so you don't have to tell me."

Lisbon opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, a little dumbfounded at Hightower's outburst. Jane merely let out a quiet chuckle before placing his hand gently on Lisbon's thigh. Unconsciously, Lisbon placed her hand on top of his.

"It's not Jane I wanted to talk about ma'am," Lisbon said finally.

"So you don't deny that you're in a relationship?" Hightower asked.

"No we don't." It was Jane that spoke, "But please, Lisbon really needs to show you something."

Lisbon took the letter from her pocket, unfolded it and handed it to Hightower.

There were a few moments of silence while Hightower read the words on the piece of paper in her hands. When she'd finished she calmly placed the letter down on the desk in front of her. "When did you receive this threat?" she asked.

"Five days ago ma'am."

"And you didn't think to tell me earlier?" Hightower sounded more concerned than angry, which was strange for her.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know what to do. I know I should have told you sooner but..." Lisbon trailed off, not wanting to reveal that her main motivation in not telling her boss was to prevent Jane from finding out.

"Have you organised any sort of protection for yourself?" Hightower asked.

"The team have been escorting me to and from work and they've been talking it in turns to stay on my couch**,**" Lisbon answered.

"Okay. Well, because this is Red John," Lisbon felt Jane's hand tighten on her thigh at the mention of the serial killers name as Hightower continued. "I'm going to assign a specialist team to your protection. We're going to move you into a safe house so-"

It was Lisbon's turn to cut Hightower off**. **"No. This is our chance to finally catch Red John**.** If you move me to a safe house**,** he won't be able to come after me in two days because he'll have to find out where I am. Let me stay in my house with a team assigned to me. That way**,** Red John will be able to strike when he says he's going to and we'll be able to apprehend him."

"Lisbon that's a very risky plan, clearly Jane's been rubbing off on you**,**" Hightower said.

"She's right, Teresa. Our priority is keeping you safe**;** Red John got past Kristina's protection**.** At least if you're in a safe house we're making it more difficult for him**,**" Jane told her and she knew it was difficult for him to say something like that. She knew there was nothing more he wanted than to apprehend the man who'd murdered his wife and daughter.

"No Jane, if I've got agents in my house then I'll be fine..." Lisbon began; didn't Jane understand that she wanted to do this for him, for them?

"Lisbon, what if he attacks them**?** He could still get to you. He's smart Lisbon**,** he'll find a way." Jane sounded almost angry with her. Both of them had nearly forgotten that Hightower was in the room with them.

"I know you want to protect me, but just let me do this. You can stay with me Jane and we can get him. Isn't that what you want?" Lisbon asked sincerely.

"Of course it is, but I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

"Please Jane, let me do this." She met his eyes and knew that he'd let her do what she asked.

"You seem to have forgotten that this is my decision," Hightower interjected. Lisbon quickly moved her focus to the floor. "Agent Lisbon, if you really want to go ahead with this plan, so be it." Jane looked like he was about to protest but Hightower continued, "I'll get a team together, you can stay at work for today and they'll escort you back home. Several, of them will be stationed in your house. We'll have to try and get them in with very little fuss so as not to tip Red John off."

"Ma'am?" Lisbon asked**.**

"Yes**,** Lisbon?"

"Can my team be stationed in my house? I trust them and I'd feel more comfortable it was them**,**" Lisbon queried.

"I suppose, but I also want two more agents in your house and three on surveillance outside," Hightower said firmly.

"Yes ma'am. Jane?" Lisbon was surprised that he'd remained silent throughout this discussion. He turned his head to look at Lisbon and she was surprised to see that he was smiling a little.

"We're going to get him aren't we?" he asked.

"Yes," said Lisbon returning his smile**.** "I think we are."


	7. Chapter 6

Lisbon was curled up on her sofa with her head resting on Jane's chest. They were spending the evening watching a movie, which was more difficult than it sounded, due to the fact that Lisbon's home was now being shared by five other CBI agents. Said CBI agents were all currently sat in her kitchen, discussing plans for her protection, with the exception of Cho, who was sat in the armchair on the other side of her living room. Apparently, it was essential for an agent to have eyes on her at all times and Jane didn't count.

Lisbon completely understood why it had to be like this after all, they were only one day away from the day Red John had vowed to kill her. She just found it damn annoying to have her every move watched. Especially when it was one of those two idiots that Hightower had sent. Agents Tompsett and Hammond were two of the most unsociable, humourless, emotionless jerks that Lisbon had ever met. Hammond was clearly older than Tompsett and when asked any sort of question gave a non-committal shrug and answered in one word sentences. Tompsett seemed like a bit of a rookie**, **but it appeared that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his superior because talking to him was also like trying to get blood out of stone. Lisbon was glad that she had Van Pelt, Cho, Rigsby and Jane there to keep her company, otherwise she was pretty sure she'd have gone insane.

Jane had managed to entertain her earlier that evening by trying to hypnotise Agent Tompsett. He failed big time. When Jane had told Tompsett that

he would now go and make him a cup of tea**,** the agent just blinked and didn't move. She and Rigsby had been in hysterics at the look of confusion that appeared on Jane's face.

The show they had been watching finished and Lisbon sat up, offering Jane her hand and headed up to bed. As she laid in bed with Jane that night she tried to forget that this could be the last night she ever slept with Jane's arm around her. This time tomorrow it was entirely likely that she'd be dead. Well she said slept, sleep was pretty hard to come by under these circumstances.

* * *

This was it. The day had finally come, it was the day on which Red John promised to kill her. Surprisingly the day had been mainly uneventful. Now, it was the end of the day and Lisbon was laid in her bed with Jane. Hightower had insisted that she didn't leave her house all day and all five agents stationed in her house, as well as Jane, had stayed with her. So far the day had passed without event, which meant that while she and Jane looked as if they were trying to sleep they were both, in fact, wide awake. Lisbon's Glock was hidden under her pillow and her off duty weapon was on the bedside table, just in case. She'd drawn the line at having an agent in her room so Rigsby was currently sitting outside her bedroom door.

All day everyone in the house had been on edge, the slightest hint of anything suspicious going on in had been investigated by someone. Even when it turned out to be Lisbon's nosy neighbour**,** Mrs**.** Pilkington**.** If she hadn't been so on edge**, **Lisbon would have laughed at her neighbour's face when she was confronted by Cho and Rigsby. That was quite literally the only thing of note. Which scared Lisbon because knew Red John would come; it was just a matter of time.

"Jane," she whispered softly.

"What?" he whispered back, sounding just as scared as she was feeling.

"Are you awake?" Lisbon asked.

"No, I'm talking in my sleep," he answered sarcastically**. **She knew the humour was his attempt to keep her calm**, **but it didn't stop her from giving him a sharp jab to the ribs with her elbow.

"Ow!" Jane exclaimed rubbing his ribs gingerly. "What was that for?"

Lisbon opened her mouth to reply**,** but was interrupted by a loud clattering from her back yard.

"What was that?" Jane asked**,** sounding nervous.

Lisbon didn't answer but opened her bedroom door to talk to Rigsby "Did you hear that?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm going to grab Cho and check it out. Boss, I think you should get your gun**, **just in case**,**" Rigsby said making his way downstairs hastily.

Lisbon returned to her room to see Jane stood by the window**, **looking absolutely petrified but there was a glint of something else in his eyes: anticipation.

"See anything?" she asked as she grabbed her Glock from under her pillow, checking the ammunition and taking the safety off. Jane shook his head.

"Here," Lisbon said**,** handing him her off duty weapon.

Jane eyed it with apprehension, "Lisbon**,** isn't it illegal?"

Lisbon pushed it into his hands **.**"Take it. Right now I don't care about the law, I just want to know that you're safe. You're only to use it if there's no other way, okay?" For a moment she wondered what she was doing. She was giving him the tools to do the one thing that she desperately didn't want to happen. But she trusted that he'd make the right decision and remember his promise.

"We'll wait in here until Rigsby comes back," Lisbon instructed him, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

A few seconds later**,** Jane came and sat alongside her, taking her hand in his and slowly grazing his thumb across her knuckles. He didn't try and tell her everything would be okay and inwardly**,** she was glad of it because she knew that when Red John was involved**,** everything was, more often than not, not okay.

They sat there for what felt like a lifetime, without a sign of Rigsby or Cho and Lisbon was becoming increasingly nervous. What if something had happened to them? It would be all her fault. Jane could obviously tell her distress was growing because he'd pulled her into his arms and was stroking her hair. Suddenly, she pulled away from him as she heard a muffled yell come from downstairs. Jane had clearly heard it too because he jumped up from the bed and grabbed the gun that he'd discarded on the mattress when he'd wrapped his arms around her.

"What was that?" Lisbon breathed apprehensively, not wanting to draw attention to herself and Jane.

"It sounded like someone shouting," Jane whispered back.

"I know," she replied uneasily**, **heading towards the door, but Jane grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Don't you think we should just stay here?" he asked.

"You can if you want, but I need to go and investigate**,**" Lisbon replied. Jane let go of her wrist and followed her out of the room. Silently, with her gun held out in front of her**, **Lisbon crept along the hallway with Jane hot on her heels. She was sure she could hear movement downstairs but tried not to let her fear show. As she moved down the stairs**,** she saw a sight that horrified her: Agent Hammond was laid at the foot of the stairs in a pool of his own blood, his throat cut.

It took all Lisbon's self restrain to prevent herself from crying out in shock. Jane let out a murmured "Oh God." Carefully, she negotiated her way around the body, trying to avoid looking at him. The noise appeared to be coming from her living room; she braced herself before cautiously heading towards the source of the noise.

The door leading to her living room was shut, she turned to look at Jane and nodded at him before flinging the door open and hurrying inside.

There she saw a man in a black hooded sweatshirt sat on her sofa**, **staring at the blank wall opposite him, with his fingertips pressed together as if he were praying. Sprawled across her living room floor was the body of Agent Tompsett, well what was left of it. The body had been slashed repeatedly and was barely recognisable. Lisbon felt the urge to vomit but somehow managed to avoid it.

"Ahhh," said the man, slowly turning towards Jane and Lisbon. "Teresa, so nice to meet you," he said almost cheerfully "But Patrick, I didn't realise you'd be here."

He wasn't wearing a mask and Lisbon could see his face**.** He had cold grey eyes**,** white blonde hair and his voice was cold and emotionless. Lisbon still had her gun trained on him, as did Jane.

"Red John, I'm arresting you for-" she began but Red John cut her off.

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast, you see I've got one of your friends here," he said going behind the sofa and pulling something up.

"_No!_" Lisbon couldn't help shouting out as Red John put a knife to the throat of Van Pelt. The young agent looked terrified and tears cascaded down her cheeks. She had her hands bound with duct tape**,** which had also been used to cover her mouth. Red John had her directly in front of him and Lisbon couldn't get a clear shot at him, she glanced at Jane and the terrified look on his face told her that he didn't have a shot either.

Red John smiled coldly, "Now put your gun on the floor or I'll slit her throat and don't think I won't." He pressed the knife into Van Pelts throat and Lisbon saw droplets of blood appear. She lowered her gun and placed it on the floor.

"Now, kick it over here." Lisbon did as she was instructed. Jane hesitated a little before mirroring Lisbon.

"Good," Red John threw Van Pelt to the side of the room "I will have to kill her eventually**,** of course**, **but at least it won't be on either of your consciences."

"You bastard," Lisbon spat.

"Now, now Teresa there's no need for that**,**" Red John replied, walking towards her. Instinctively, Lisbon backed up into Jane's arms.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Jane warned, wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"Aww, now isn't that sweet? You couldn't protect your family what makes you think you can protect your precious Teresa Lisbon?" Red John taunted.

Jane rushed forwards towards the serial killer, but Lisbon saw the silver glint of the knife in Red John's hand and grabbed Jane's wrist to stop him. He turned to face her, anger burning in his eyes.

"Jane, please come back to me,"she begged him, placing her hand softly on his cheek. Slowly he took her hand in his and lowered it, never once taking his eyes off hers.

"That's right, listen to dear Teresa," Red John crooned.

"Leave him alone," Lisbon said glaring harshly at the serial killer.

"Oh that's what I wanted to see, the feisty Agent Lisbon." Red John once again started to move towards Lisbon. Jane made an attempt to shield her but Red John hit him over the head with the butt of one of the guns.

"Jane!" Lisbon called out as he fell to the floor, unconscious.

As she tried to help Jane, Red John grabbed her. Lisbon attempted to fight and struggle away from him but he was too strong. When he brought the knife to her throat she stilled. Red John secured her wrists and ankles with the same duct tape that he'd used on Van Pelt. He deposited Lisbon next to the younger, red headed agent. Van Pelt still looked petrified so Lisbon took her hands and whispered soothing words to her as Red John tied Jane up.

In all honesty, Lisbon was just as terrified as Van Pelt**,** but she just tried not to show it. Years of police work had taught Lisbon that fear was exactly what sadists like Red John wanted to see in their victims. It was what they 'got off' on. Still**,** Lisbon couldn't help watching Red John and Jane nervously, she was more scared of what the Red John was planning on doing to Jane than anything the psychopath could do to her.

"Don't worry," Red John said as if reading her mind, "I'm not going to hurt him yet. We're going to wait until Mr**.** Jane wakes up and then he's going to watch as I slit your throat and the life drains from your body."

"No, please," she entreated pleaded him "If you're going to kill me**,** do it now. I don't want him to have to watch."

"I can't believe the great Teresa Lisbon is actually pleading for death," Red John said, moving closer to her, until his face was inches away from hers.

"No," he replied as he slowly stroked the silver blade down her cheek. The predatory look in his eyes repulsed her**. **It was all she could do not to spit in his face. "No, I think that Patrick should watch**. **It'll show him what happens when he gets too close to someone."

So there the three of them sat for what seemed like a lifetime, though probably wasn't very long at all, just waiting for Jane to regain consciousness. The silence was deafening and the only sound that punctuated it was the occasional sob from Van Pelt, which Lisbon acknowledged by squeezing her colleague's hand. Red John just sat there**, **staring at Jane and playing with the knife in his hands**.** It was as if he was in some sort of trance.

Then finally Jane began to stir, but rather than feel relief that Jane was okay**,** Lisbon was filled with dread because she knew what was going to happen next.

"Ah, back with us are you**,** Patrick?" Red John asked as Jane looked around. With a widening of his eyes Jane seemed to remember where he was and what was happening. "Good," Red John acknowledged, "Because I would have hated for you to miss the show."

The killer now turned his attention to Lisbon, a sadistic smile appearing on his face. He strode confidently towards her and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her into the middle of the room and throwing her down. Fear paralysed Lisbon for the first time in her life**.** She didn't try to move when Red John moved towards Jane and dragged him in to a position where he could clearly see Lisbon's face.

Lisbon looked up and her eyes met Jane's**.** She wished they hadn't because he looked like his heart had been torn from his chest. But no matter how much she wanted to look away**, **she couldn't seem to tear her eyes from his gaze. Through it she tried to convey all the words she hadn't said, _'sorry', 'it's not your fault', 'I love you'_. Tears pooled in her eyes as she thought about leaving him. Their obvious connection wasn't missed by Red John.

"Oh, I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," he sarcastically as he drew the knife. Lisbon and Jane didn't break eye contact as the killer lowered the knife, moving it closer to Lisbon's throat she braced herself for cut that never came.

In that moment**,** several things happened at once: Lisbon's front door crashed in and Cho and Rigsby rushed in, each firing a shot; Van Pelt grabbed one of the guns from the floor and fired a third shot and Red John crumpled on top of Lisbon.

Quickly, Jane ran towards her and shoved the corpse off her. Lisbon sat up and put her arms, which were still tied together, around his neck and pulled him close, their tears mixing together. Rigsby had gone immediately to Van Pelt and was working at the duct tape that bound her wrists. Cho grabbed the knife that had fallen from Red John's hand and set about cutting Jane and Lisbon free. The moment the tape was broken Lisbon flung herself into Jane's arms.

Not one of the people in the room spoke a word to each other; they were all coming to terms with the fact that it was over. After a few moments Jane pulled away from Lisbon and went to stand next to Cho was staring down at the lifeless body of Red John. Lisbon followed him and placed her hand comfortingly on his arm. Van Pelt and Rigsby soon joined them and they all stood around staring at the man that had caused the all so much pain. Three bullet wounds penetrated his chest, it would be practically impossible to tell which of the agents had dealt Red John the final blow. That didn't bother Lisbon though, he was still dead, which was the main thing.

She just hoped that Jane would see it that way.

After that, everything seems to move in slow motion. As soon as they left the house**,** Lisbon found herself separated from Jane as they were whisked away by paramedics. They were the ones that told her that the noise in the backyard had been a distraction. When Cho and Rigsby went out to investigate**,** they were attacked by two of Red Johns accomplices. Luckily, the agents stationed outside Lisbon's home had heard the attack and called paramedics before coming to Cho and Rigsby's aid. Unfortunately both accomplices had refused to be taken alive.

Once she'd been checked over and the paramedics had declared the only thing wrong with her was shock, she was left sitting on the edge of the ambulance wrapped in a foil blanket. While she'd been allowed to put on some shoes, the CSI guys said she wasn't allowed to get any extra clothing than what she was wearing: her Lisbon jersey and a very short pair of shorts. She just sat there staring at the scene that surrounded her house, until Jane found her. He**,** too**,** was wearing his pyjamas and was wrapped in a blanket, not dissimilar to hers. He came and sat beside her, placing his arm around her waist. Instinctively, she lay her head on his shoulder.

They watched as two bodies were wheeled past, those of agents Tompsett and Hammond.

"You know, they gave their lives to save us and I barely even knew either of them**,**" Lisbon said**, **speaking for the first time since Red John had been shot. It hurt her to know that she was the reason two people had had their lives cut painfully short. She would never be able to forget that.

"Let's get out of here," Jane said**,** taking her by the hand and leading her away. He led her to his car and she got in. She didn't ask how he'd got the keys or where they were going, to be honest, she didn't care as long as they escaped the hell that surrounded her place.

Eventually, they reached the CBI headquarters; she should have known that was where he'd take her. They made their way to the bullpen and sat on his couch in silence.

It was Lisbon who broke it, "Jane, we need to talk."

"Why?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Two men died today because of us, because of what we were doing," she said firmly.

"No, Lisbon don't do this to me. It's not our fault. It's not _your_ fault, it was part of their job. Haven't you been trying to tell me that for years?" Jane sounded upset.

"Jane it wasn't part of their job to get murdered by a psychopath!" Lisbon exclaimed.

"There's always going to be danger when you're a cop, they knew that as well as you do!" Jane was shouting too.

"But..." Lisbon began, but Jane interrupted.

"No buts Lisbon, I kept my promise, now you have to promise me that you won't blame yourself for what happened to Tompsett and Hammond. Don't let Red John ruin your life with guilt the way he almost ruined mine."

Lisbon nodded her head slightly,, trying to get her emotions under control. They would need to talk about it later, but it shouldn't be now. And he was right, she needed to come to terms with what had happened, but she couldn't let her own life be destroyed in the process. So instead of continuing the way she'd begun, she asked "Do you mind that it wasn't you that killed him?"

Jane knew exactly what she meant. "Of course I do, it's all I've wanted for years," after he said this Lisbon turned her head away to hide the tears she was blinking back , "But at the end of the day I chose you and I think I made the right decision."

Lisbon couldn't have even begun to articulate how she felt. Even if she'd wanted to. Instead she settled for kissing him passionately. She felt him smile in the embrace and she pulled away grinning from ear to ear. Carefully, Jane lay back on the couch, pulling Lisbon down to lay on top of him. She rested her head on his chest and she felt exhaustion overcoming her.

Sensing it Jane whispered "We can talk later .Sleep Lisbon, I'm still going to be here when you wake up. I promise. He's gone." And with that Lisbon dropped off immediately. And for the first time in seven days**, **her dreams weren't haunted by red smiley faces and serial killers, but filled with hope and warmth. She knew that she and Jane still had a long way to go but at least their biggest obstacle was out of the way.

They'd face more obstacles certainly, probably the second they woke up. But it didn't matter. Lisbon was used to fighting for what she wanted. And she was sure that she never wanted to let Jane go for the rest of her life.


End file.
